9/11 KIDS ARE ALL GROWN UP

With many of us already getting tired of what is being offered on some of the major streaming services, it is time to look elsewhere for inspiring content.  Toronto filmmaker and senior CTV news producer Elizabeth St. Philip bring us her documentary 9/11 Kids which will be streamed on Thursday, April 23rd as part of the CBC’s Hot Docs at Home Festival.   (https://hotdocs.ca/p/hd-home-cbc) The film focuses on the students of the grade 2 class at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida.  These were the students who were thrilled to have President Bush come to their class and have them read the story Pet Goat to him.  Little did they know that they would be part of historical footage as one of President Bush’s colleagues walked up to him and whispered something in his ear.  Two planes were flown into the World Trade Centre as a terrorist attack on the United States of America and the whole world was never the same.  President Bush then had to address the nation afterwards at Emma E. Booker where the war on terrorism was about to begin.

After almost two decades, director Elizabeth St. Philip goes on an amazing filmmaking journey to find out what had happened to some of the students in that class.  What did they all see that day?  How did they react?  There were so many questions that needed to be answered and Elizabeth St. Philip pieces it all together in this informative, historical yet emotional documentary.  9/11 Kids could have not come a better time as it shows not only the resilience of these children but how it makes us reflect on how we all came together to get through this traumatic and tragic time.  FERNTV spoke to Elizabeth St. Philip about why we need to be reminded of this right now in these unprecedented times.

FERNTV:   What was that one thing that made you say to yourself that you were going to make this film 9/11 Kids?

Elizabeth:  Actually, Steve Gamester, the producer came up with the idea. Like so many of us, he was deeply affected by the images of 9/11. The planes flying into the World Trade Center towers and president George W. Bush sitting in front of a second-grade class, learning about the terrorist attacks for the first time.

For years Steve wondered what happened to those kids and what they could tell us about America post 9/11. We have analyzed and dissected every aspect of that day. But until now the students have been forgotten, relegated to the margins of history. When Steve approached me to direct the film I was intrigued. It’s almost twenty years later. It’s time to hear what they have to say.

FERNTV:  When you began to film 9/11 Kids why did you feel that it was a good time to do this film?

Elizabeth:  It’s almost twenty years since the terrorist attacks so it was a good time to check in with them. They are now in their mid-twenties—making their mark in the world and also making mistakes. And frankly, they are all really interesting. One joined the military in part because of 9/11, another is pulling in six figures with her own business, and another is trying to stay out of prison. It is a profile of a new generation and through them, we had an opportunity to show what life is like today in America.

FERNTV:  What was it like to recover that footage of George Bush in the classroom and where there footage that was handed down to you and not owned by corporate media?

Elizabeth:  Uncovering the archival video was a gift from the documentary gods. Steve gets the credit for tracking down the videographer who shot it. When the teacher, Kay Daniels, and the students recount some of the chilling details of that day, the video brings it to life in a way words alone can’t.

FERNTV:  Did you think that you were going to go through this emotional ride and did you feel a lot of your subject’s pain?

Elizabeth:  I did not realize making the film would be such an emotional experience. I connected with all the subjects in the documentary but there was one person in particular who made a huge impact on me. His name is Tyler Radkey.  He was a great athlete, a gifted student and a bit of a bad boy. He got in trouble with the law and ended up in prison for a few years but by the time we met him he had a job and was turning his life around. However, in the documentary, you see how an encounter with a police officer upends his whole world. It was devastating for him and his family. All the students were compelling in their own way, but his story haunts me the most. 

FERNTV:  What were you expecting in your documentary before you started filming it?

Elizabeth:  I expected the students would say that 9/11 still impacts their lives today. But that is not what happened. They are more focused on their day-to-day struggles—making ends meet, staying out of prison, or building their careers and businesses, which ultimately was a much more interesting story to tell.

We thought we knew what the documentary was about before we started filming. We were wrong. It is a reminder we have to let go of our predetermined ideas and be ready to go where the story takes us.

FERNTV:   Where were you at 9/11?

Elizabeth:  I remember exactly where I was on September 11, 2001. I was a national news television producer and had arrived at work to find three reporters crowded around a television monitor, watching a live shot of a smoking building. A plane had hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. It was an accident, or so we thought. There were audible gasps just minutes later as we watched an airliner slice into the South Tower. Both towers crumbled to the ground a few hours later. I remembered someone whispered, “this is the start of World War III.” There were so many emotions that day: shock, fear, sadness and grief. We saw how life can be shattered in an instant. But we recovered and even thrived. It is an important lesson to remember now as we deal with all the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will get through this together and there will be better days ahead.

FERNTV:  Can you comment on the division between blacks and white in the city of Sarasota?

Elizabeth:  Several of the students featured in the film still live in Newtown, a predominately Black neighbourhood in Sarasota. They spoke about the tension between the community and the police. Many complained of the abundance of surveillance cameras in commercial and residential areas. Racial profiling is a big concern and many men expressed fear that they will get killed by police. In fact, the brother of Natalia, one of our subjects, was shot by police weeks before we started filming our documentary. We saw first-hand how that kind of event devastates a family. It made me incredibly sad that people are raising their children in an environment with that level of fear.

FERNTV:  Do you feel that these kids have been through so much in their life already that they have the tools to get through COVID – 19.

Elizabeth:  Their teacher and surrogate mother Kay Daniels taught them how to be resilient. In the documentary she said no matter what life throws at you, you should  “hold on” because better days are coming. It is a re-occurring theme in the film. Even the song we used, Hold On: Change is Coming, is the song Mrs. Daniels sang to comfort her students almost twenty years ago on 9/11.   

Their optimism is possibly one of the things that struck me the most. Every student had it. An unshakable belief in themselves and a bright future. I don’t believe anything will change that. Not even COVID-19.

FERNTV:  How does it feel to be selected at Hot Docs this year?

Elizabeth:  It was a thrill to be selected for Hot Docs! A big thank you to the programmers who watched the film and included it for 2020. I hope the audience enjoys the film!

https://hotdocs.ca/p/hd-home-cbc